Former Kansas City Star editor Laura Hockaday shares historical and personal anecdotes attributed to two Star legends, founder and publisher William Rockhill Nelson and founder of The Star’s women’s news department Nell Snead on Sunday, August 15, at 2 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Hockaday will explain how Nelson, in his effort to make the Rockhill area of Kansas City more interesting, imported squirrels from different states, leading to the continued high squirrel population in the neighborhood. She will also discuss how Snead applied for a position at The Star while passing through Kansas City in 1918 and ultimately spearheaded development of a department dedicated to women’s news.

This presentation is part of the Missouri Valley Speakers Series, a program of the Missouri Valley Special Collections at the Central Library. The series is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.